vistahcx vs 60csx

[gitarmac]

I currentlly have a venture hc and use if for a little geocaching and hiking/hunting. I've been making some cool maps of the hunting lease but I can only save 10 tracks with the venture.

 

When I go to the garmin site and compare the two units, there seems to be no differance. Yet I know there is a differance.

 

I am leaning towards the vista, but for 80 or 90 dollars more I could get the 60csx (amazon prices). I don't need it to navigate when driving, I have a nuvi for that, and although I love geocaching, I have done without the other info, I can load those into my kindle. It would be nice, but not worth 90 bucks.

 

It looks like the vista has a slightly larger screen which would be nice.

 

What are the differances between the two models?

[+Chi-Town Cacher]

Hi. I'll leave the technical comparison of the Vista and the 60 CSx to folks who are much more technically knowledgeable than me. What I would like to do though is point out a problem I had with my Vista HCx and then you can decide if you want it to be a factor in your decision or not.

 

I bought my Vista HCx this Spring and within about 4 months the rubber banding that goes around the outer edge and is part of the water proofing started falling off and was getting adhesive all over my hand and all over my the screen of the GPSr. From reading on this Technology forum I do know that this is an ongoing problem with the eTrex model GPSr's. My nephew has an eTrex Legend and his banding is falling off too. Just this morning I got an E-Mail from a lady who owns a Vista HCx and it too has the banding falling off. For that reason I could never recommend somebody spend $200 on a Vista HCx knowing there's a good chance that it will fall apart in a short period of time.

 

Good luck in your search. It's up to you, but you may want to expand your search to expand outside of the Garmin brand since there are other viable options. Again good luck and my best advice is to avoid Garmin eTrex models like the plague!

[gitarmac]

Wierd. I have 2 ventures and the rubber is fine on them. The one venture is an older model and hasn't been used much but my yellow one gets used all the time. I wonder if deet is making some of them fail. I think deet is ruining some of my boots and clothes but the bugs are so bad you really don't have a choice.

 

I saw a refurbished model for way cheaper, and it still has a factory warrenty. I might go that route. This is a vista I am looking at.

[+Chi-Town Cacher]

I don't know how widespread the problem is, but of the 2 eTrexes I've been around they both had problems with the rubber banding falling off. I know in my case I've never used any sort of bug spray so I know that can't be it. I can't speak for the other 2 I'm aware of though.

 

Oh well, the important thing is you've at least had a chance to give that issue some thought. Good luck with making your selection!

Edited September 10, 2009 by Michigan Cacheman

[+BlueDeuce]

Again good luck and my best advice is to avoid Garmin eTrex models like the plague!

 

I've handled more than a few and I haven't had any problem with the Etrex. In fact they are very reliable.

 

Check here for a comparison.

 

http://www.gpsnow.com/gmetrexcomp.htm

[+suhplar]

I bought a barely- used etrex vista HCX off the forums a month or so ago and it works great for everything i use it for- but my rubber band started coming off last week. I removed it entirely and was going to use some permatex to put it back on but it was slightly stretched out. I emailed Garmin and told them about it and they're sending me a new band + adhesive strip (I'll probably still use permatex though) free of charge.

Other than that I love my vista and don't foresee upgrading any time soon as it's more than accurate enough for me (although paperless would be nice- I'll just keep using my blackberry for that though).

[ao318]

I have the 60csx and a legend HCX. Both are great units. I also have 2 Venture CX's for my kids and have not seen the band problem as of yet. I did however experience something similar with my csx in where the little rubber seal that goes around the unit between the two halves started to come out. It was still under warranty when this happened and Garmin replaced the unit. This was almost a year ago and I haven't had a problem with it as of yet.

 

As a personal preference as to which GPS I like more, I would choose the CSX. It is more rugged feeling than the HCX, I like the toggle and all of the controls on the front of the unit, and I just like the way it sits in my hand. As to performance, I really don't notice that much of a difference in either units reception.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[+Damin69]

 

As a personal preference as to which GPS I like more, I would choose the CSX. It is more rugged feeling than the HCX, I like the toggle and all of the controls on the front of the unit, and I just like the way it sits in my hand. As to performance, I really don't notice that much of a difference in either units reception.

 

Just my 2 cents.

+1

[NordicMan]

I've been using a Vista Cx for many years and LOVE it! Sure enough just as has happened with others, the rubber trim started to come loose in spots, after several years of regular use. I called Garmin & they mailed be a free replacment trim piece & adhesive strip. Great service!

 

MC I'm sorry to hear you had such a horrendous problem with yours I've never heard of a trim piece completely disintegrating in just 4 months(!) that's gotta be a record, a rare record at that. Not typical at all!

 

Functionally the Vista HCx is basically identical to the 60 CSx. The 60 does have a slightly larger screen, but the Vista has a higher pixel count so, you decide which way is best

 

It's a fair warning about the Etrex trim problem. But I couldn't justify the extra $$'s for the 60CSx.

[+Pulvertoastmann]

I would go for the 60CSx.

 

A few weeks ago I purchased the vista HCx and returned it to the store only three days later, picked up the 60CSx instead.

 

The vista I got suffered from almost every bug that has been discussed in this form - no more increase of backlight brightness beyond 40%, display flickering and - the main reason for returning it - it was drifting to the west right out of the box.

 

Since I preferred the 60CSx' design and larger display anyway the exchange was not too hard for me. I bought the vista in the first place only because it was cheaper for apparently the same functionality.

 

To be honest, I was even happy to have a reason to buy the 60CSx, because (for me) the eTrex design with the display on the bottom of the device and the buttons on top is rather ugly. Furthermore, some important functions (find and mark) are far more easy to access on the 60CSx because of the additional buttons.

 

Just my 2 cents!

 

best,

Pulvertoastmann

[+Team CowboyPapa]

I currentlly have a venture hc and use if for a little geocaching and hiking/hunting. I've been making some cool maps of the hunting lease but I can only save 10 tracks with the venture.

 

If this is still an issue, I can't help regarding a Garmin if it does support something similar to which I describe below.

While the DeLorme models also have this limitation of 10 tracks, as tracks,

it is possible for those users to have many additional tracks displayed as Draw Layers.

With those, there is good help available as one must use the much-maligned Topo USA 8.0.

In so doing, one creates a Draw Layer with any number of Tracks in Topo 8,

load it onto a PN-20/30/40 and the tracks will be visible as they overlay the selected map or photo image.

[Ken in Regina]

If this is still an issue, I can't help regarding a Garmin if it does support something similar to which I describe below.

While the DeLorme models also have this limitation of 10 tracks, as tracks,

it is possible for those users to have many additional tracks displayed as Draw Layers.

It's only an issue on the model that doesn't have external storage. The manufacturer has to decide what the limits will be for some stuff when there is a finite amount of memory to work with.

 

All the other models with the micro-SD card storage will automatically save tracks to the card until the card is full. If you want loads of tracks just stick a 2GB or 4GB card in the device and you're good for life.

 

...ken...

[+agentmancuso]

the eTrex design with the display on the bottom of the device and the buttons on top is rather ugly.

 

I prefer it that way - maybe because I use my Cx for hillwalking more than caching, so tend to walk with it in my hand the whole time. If the scree was at the top, my thumb would hide it!

 

I've had rubber band problems too, but I don't really care - leckie tape works wonders. A Vista HCx would still be my first choice.

[gitarmac]

I have gone with a factory refurbished vista. I have read about the rubber band problem and some fixes for it so that part doesn't bother me. Time will tell if I have any of the other problems. Surely it will be as good as my venture.

 

At least it was cheap

[+agentmancuso]

I have gone with a factory refurbished vista. I have read about the rubber band problem and some fixes for it so that part doesn't bother me. Time will tell if I have any of the other problems. Surely it will be as good as my venture.

 

At least it was cheap

 

Good call. That way you won't mind so much when it ends up scratched, battered, caked in mud & held together with tape, like mine.